The King James Bible and outdated English?

Question

I'm aware that the King James Bible is hundreds of years old, and the meanings of the words from that time have changed, which can lead people to misinterpret the Bible.

I was wondering, though, if the New International version changes the words into modern English or if it's just written with modern English grammar.

I've never read any version of the Bible, but I would like to read it for what it truly was without learning Hebrew.

Answer 1

As for the old testament I would suggest getting a copy of the Tanakh, which has a copy of both the hebrew and english texts. The translation in those ten to be the most accurate. I'm not really sure what to do about the nt, a good chunk of it was actually written in Aramaic and Greek.

Answer 2

The New International Version is a different translation than King James. I'd say, though, that the NIV is written in modern grammar and, for the most part, modern English. There are many different translations of the Bible, though.

However, a lot of things are lost in translation, as most translation is "gisted", to accomodate for things like idioms. Aside from that, the original Bible was also written in Hebrew, Latin, and Aramaic, since the writers of the Bible spoke multiple languages and dialects. Not to mention that words can be translated in many different ways; different translators will argue about their interpretation. The oldest parts of the Bible originated from oral tradition and were written down long after they actually happened, which further dilutes the message.

Now, ignoring all that, the differences between different translations are just words. While words have great power, and diction and the connotation/denotation of words is very important... You get pretty much the same message every edition. If you're looking for as close to the Bible as it was, you'd have to actually learn the languages. However, reading a translation you can understand is less time-consuming, less frustrating, and will generally yield you the same message. So I'd say go for the NIV instead of King James. It'll probably save you a lot of confusion.

Answer 3

New World Translation.

Old Testament:
In fact, the New World Translation is a scholarly work. In 1989, Professor Benjamin Kedar of Israel said:
"In my linguistic research in connection with the Hebrew Bible and translation, I often refer to the English edition as what is known as the New World Translation. In doing so, I find my feeling repeatedly confirmed that this kind of work reflects an honest endeavor to achieve an understanding of the text that is as accurate as possible. Giving evidence of a broad command of the original language, it renders the original words into a second language understandably without deviating unnecessarily from the specific structure of the Hebrew....Every statement of language allows for a certain latitude in interpreting or translating. So the linguistic solution in any given case may be open to debate. But I have never discovered in the New World Translation any biased intent to read something into the text that it does not contain."

New Testament:

While critical of some of its translation choices, BeDuhn called the New World Translation a “remarkably good” translation, “better by far” and “consistently better” than some of the others considered. Overall, concluded BeDuhn, the New World Translation “is one of the most accurate English translations of the New Testament currently available” and “the most accurate of the translations compared.”—Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament.

“Here at last is a comprehensive comparison of nine major translations of the Bible:

King James Version, New American Standard Bible, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, Amplified Bible, Today's English Version (Good News Bible), Living Bible, and the New World Translation.

The book provides a general introduction to the history and methods of Bible translation, and gives background on each of these versions. Then it compares them on key passages of the New Testament to determine their accuracy and identify their bias. Passages looked at include:

John 1:1; John 8:58; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-20; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; 2 Peter 1:1

Jason BeDuhn
Associate Professor of Religious Studies, and Chair
Department of Humanities, Arts, and Religion
Northern Arizona University

Answer 4

An interlinear would be as close to the Greek/Hebrew as possible, but is not really made for straight out reading. The NASB (1977) would be the most accurate modern English translation, but reads on about the college level. The NIV reads about 10th grade, and is a good Bible. The New KJV is a better read than the old KJV. Also the HCSB is accurate and new.

Answer 5

The KJV is a literal translation of the Bible and is quite readable even today. There is much talk about it's old-English, but that is merely an exaggeration - there is only a handful words which you would need to look up. The problem with other translations like the NIV is that the Greek that is used relies heavily on a corrupt transcript (Cortex B). Also NIV does not merely translate, but does a good deal of interpreting of the words.

Answer 6

Check out the websites below and you tell me which one is better, the KJB or the NIV or any other book you feel is God's Word.

If you believe that the NIV is the Word of God, please answer the following questions.

Do not rely on your memory. As the Bible is the final authority, you must take the answer from the Bible verse (not from footnotes but from the text).

1.Fill in the missing words in Matthew 5:44. “Love your enemies, ___ them that curse you, ____ to them that hate you, and pray for them that ___ and persecute you.”

2.According to Matthew 17:21, what two things are two things are required to cast out this type of demon?

3.According to Matthew 18:11, why did Jesus come to earth?

4.According to Matthew 27:2, what was Pilate’s first name?

5.In Matthew 27:35, when the wicked soldiers parted His garments, they were fulfilling the words of the prophet. Copy what the prophet said in Matthew 27:35 from the NIV.

6.In Mark 3:15, Jesus gave the apostles power to cast out demons and to: ___

7.According to Mark 7:16, what does a man need to be able to hear?

8.According to Luke 7:28, what was John? (teacher, prophet, carpenter, etc.). What was his title or last name?

9.In Luke 9:55, what did the disciples not know?

10.In Luke 9:56, what did the Son of man not come to do? According to this verse, what did He come to do?

11.In Luke 22:14, how many apostles were with Jesus?

12.According to Luke 23:38, in what three languages was the superscription written?

13.In Luke 24:42 what did they give Jesus to eat with His fish?

14.John 3:13 is a very important verse, proving the deity of Christ. According to this verse (as Jesus spoke), where is the Son of man?

15.What happened each year as told in John 5:4?

16.In John 7:50, what time of day did Nicodemus come to Jesus?

17.In Acts 8:37 what is the one requirement for baptism?

18.What did Saul ask Jesus in Acts 9:6?

19.Write the name of the man mentioned in Acts 15:34.

20.Study Acts 24:6-8. What would the Jew have done with Paul? What was the chief captain’s name? What did the chief captain command?

21.Copy Romans 16:24 word for word from the NIV.

22.First Timothy is perhaps the greatest verse in the New Testament concerning the deity of Christ. In this verse, who was manifested in the flesh?

23.In the second part of First Peter 4:14, how do [they] speak of Christ? And, what do we Christians do?

24.Who are the three Persons of the Trinity in First John 5:7?

25.Revelation 1:11 is another very important verse that proves the deity of Christ. In the first part of this verse Jesus said, “I am the A__ and O__, the __ and the ___:”

Conclusion: Little space is provided for answers, but it’s much more than needed. If you followed the instructions above, you not only failed the test, you receive a big goose egg.

(Ed. These are all missing in the NIV.) So now what do you think of your “accurate, easy to understand, up to date Bible”?

This is why Proverbs 30:6, Deuteronomy 4:2, and Revelation 22:18-19 read what they read. “…for ye have perverted the words of the living God…” Jeremiah 23:36. “…let God be true, but every man a liar;” Romans 3:4. “…why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Luke 6:46. “Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” Luke 11:28. Not rewrite it…

If you would like to improve your score, and in fact score 100%, you can take this test using the Authorized (King James) Bible.

“And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?” Job 24:25.

For what it's worth: Zondervan, the major publisher of the NIV and the catholic church have known for years for what I'm about to state: Other than the comment made about the KJB at the www.chick.com website, if "anyone" can prove that the KJB has mistakes or has flaws in it, there is a one million dollar offer to anyone who can prove it. You understood me right, $1,000,000. That said, before you claim you can prove it, consider this: As much as the catholic church has bad mouthed the Bible over hunderds of years, and has killed people for writing it, not once have they came fore to take up the offer. Zondervan has bad mouth the King James Bible for years because it out sells their NIV and has all but called the KJB a dog because of it. Wouldn't you think, here's their chance to prove that their book is better than the KJ and yet they won't take the offer up? Click on the website below and you will see why.

Up Date:

TeeM, compair your New World Translation to the bottom website

Answer 7

I have both a King James Bible and a New King James Bible. The New King James Bible replaces the archaic words such as thee and thou with you. It is still very close to the Hebrew.

Answer 8

Check out the bible Gateway. It has many translations.http://www.biblegateway.com/

My favorite is the verions called 'The Message' It translates the idiomatic original Greek into idiomatic English. It brings the scriptures alive.

Answer 9

the bible is out dated!!